Police Probe Neglect, Abuse Of Disabled Residents At Group Homes In Houston

Houston Chronicle: Person Of Interest In Group Home Probe Oversaw Seven Other Boarding Homes In Houston, Authorities Say 
A man at the center of a probe into an overcrowded, unlicensed group home in Harris County has been tied to seven other similar Houston properties, for which he has been cited more than 200 times over a roughly three-year period, police said Thursday. Carroll Shelton Richardson was identified this week as a person of interest by the Harris County Pct. 7 Constable’s Office, which on Monday removed at least 35 abused or neglected residents found living in “deplorable” conditions in the Caring Hands Group Home in the 14000 block of Long Meadow Drive. (Gill and Dellinger, 9/24)

Nursing homes reopen in Massachusetts and Louisiana —

WBUR: Starting Friday, Indoor Visits Are Allowed At Nursing Homes 
Nursing homes and rest homes in Massachusetts can resume in-person visits on Friday, as long as infection control and safety measures announced by the Baker administration Thursday are in place. Assisted living residences will also be allowed to expand their indoor visitation options. The Department of Public Health and the Executive Office of Elder Affairs said their new guidelines balance "the important role visitation plays in supporting resident emotional health and quality of life, while ensuring necessary infection control measures are in place." (Young, 9/24)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: As Louisiana Nursing Homes Reopen To Visitors: 'We Very Much Hope This Is The First Of Many Visits' 
Louisiana’s 270-plus nursing homes have banned visitors since the virus took hold in many of nursing homes across the United States in the early days of the pandemic. But the shutdown did not stop the spread: More than 40% of Louisiana's 5,241 confirmed coronavirus deaths were nursing home residents. But the visitor ban had its own consequences. (Woodruff, 9/24)

In news from Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana and Missouri —

CNN: A Sign In Illinois Reminding People Of The 200,000 US Covid Deaths Vandalized Five Times In 6 Days 
A sign memorializing the hundreds of thousands of people who have died in the United States from Covid-19 has become a target for vandalism in a suburban Chicago town. The "Covid death scoreboard," as its been dubbed, has been vandalized five times since it was installed Friday in Northbrook, Illinois, organizers said. "We've had vandalism before when we've put up displays, but I was shocked because we're all in this virus situation together," Lee Goodman told CNN. "Frankly when we put it up, I didn't think anyone would pay any attention at all." (Zdanowicz, 9/24)

AP: Iowa Fines Beef Plant $957 After Huge Coronavirus Outbreak
Iowa regulators have issued their first citation to a meatpacking plant with a large coronavirus outbreak that sickened its workforce — a $957 fine for a minor record-keeping violation. The outbreak at the Iowa Premium Beef Plant in Tama in April resulted in 338 of the plant’s 850 workers testing positive for the virus, 80 more than the state previously acknowledged, according to inspection records released Thursday. (Foley, 9/24)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Coronavirus Infections Decline In Jefferson Parish Jail After Outbreak In August 
The number of coronavirus-infected inmates at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center has dropped significantly since an outbreak took hold there six weeks ago. But the Gretna jail was still on lockdown Thursday as a precaution. (Hunter, 9/24)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Missouri Governor ‘Feels Healthy’ As COVID-19 Quarantine Begins
A second, more accurate test has confirmed that Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has COVID-19, the governor’s office said Thursday. The 65-year-old Republican is not showing any symptoms, but he is isolating in the Governor’s Mansion for at least the next 10 days while his wife, Teresa, 67, is quarantining at their home in Bolivar. “At this time, Governor Parson feels healthy, and the First Lady’s symptoms remain mild,” a statement from the office said. (Kurt Erickson, 9/25)

In news from Oklahoma, Texas, California and Oregon —

The Oklahoman: Oklahoma Health Officials Preparing COVID-19 Vaccination Plan
Oklahoma health officials are preparing a three-phased approach to distribute COVID-19 vaccines once a viable candidate is distributed to states. At the outset, state officials anticipate Oklahoma will receive enough vaccinations for 20,000-30,000 people, or roughly 1% of the population. (Forman, 9/24)

Dallas Morning News: To Exempt Or Not To Exempt: COVID-19 Exemptions Continue To Spark Debate Over Religious Liberty, Public Health
The lack of social distancing or any significant capacity limits didn’t violate state restrictions because the event was in a place of worship — in this case a megachurch — one of the few places in the state afforded exemptions from the coronavirus executive orders by Gov. Greg Abbott, who was roughly six feet across from Pence in the first pew. Texas' stance on religious liberty during this COVID-19 era was clear then, and it hasn’t wavered. (Briseno, 9/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: Californians Urged To Get Flu Shot To Avoid Coronavirus And Flu ‘Twindemic’
It is more important than ever for Californians to get vaccinated for the flu this year to help preserve hospital capacity ahead of a potential “twindemic” as influenza and COVID-19 overlap in the fall and winter, the state’s top health official and hospital leaders said Thursday. The number of new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions in California has fallen steadily over the last two months. But hospitals could become overcrowded if the virus surges again in the colder winter months as more people gather indoors, where the virus is more likely to spread than in outdoor settings. (Ho, 9/24)

Kaiser Health News: In Los Angeles, Latinos Hit Hard By Pandemic’s Economic Storm  
Working as a fast-food cashier in Los Angeles, Juan Quezada spends a lot of his time these days telling customers how to wear a mask. “They cover their mouth but not their nose,” he said. “And we’re like, ‘You gotta put your mask on right.'” Quezada didn’t expect to be enforcing mask-wearing. Six months ago, he was a restaurant manager, making $30 an hour, working full time and saving for retirement. But when Los Angeles County health officials shut down most restaurants in March because of the spreading pandemic, Quezada lost his job. The only work he could find pays a lot less and is part time. (Fortier, 9/25)

AP: 77 Workers At Oregon Seafood Plant Test Positive For Virus
Dozens of employees at seafood processing plant on the Oregon coast have tested positive for the coronavirus, Clatsop County officials said Thursday. Pacific Seafood used a private lab earlier this week to test the Warrenton, Oregon, plant’s 159 night-shift workers, and 77 tested positive, The Astorian reported. (9/25)